THE TWITCHER: Trends for #Twitter in 2014

The new year is finally here! Last year saw @TwitterIndia grow bigger, more crowded and definitely more popular.

It is expected to maintain this trajectory even in 2014, which will be one of the most turbulent - crucial - political years in #India's recent history.

This along with the related social and economic changes will obviously dominate the noisy platform in this 'long' year ahead of us.

So, it is but obvious to wish for a few things from the millions of #Tweeple out there, who'll be busy promoting their themselves, their ideas or 'their' men to us every minute of the days ahead.

First and foremost, one hopes that the celebrities, politicians and all the other so-called newsmakers in #India develop a little humour, wit and sarcasm. (PS: This definitely applies to the hordes of their supporters.)

Today, some of the dullest and most boring accounts to have 'graced' this noisy platform belong to these 'high fliers' who mostly feed dull itineraries, weather and advertorial promotions to their millions of fans.

Though, to give them the benefit of doubt, they alone can't be blamed for the situation. In a nutshell, Indians - all of them? - still can't laugh at themselves. Any sarcasm or witty wordplay on this 140 character platform is taken literally. Hopefully this will change and we won't be a platform for an angry mob with sticks and stones looking for a target for their outrage.

There were many episodes throughout 2013, where the ones outraging were more outrageous in their comments and responses than the originally outrageous posts. Phew!

One most recent episode affirmed yet another @twitter bias which one hopes will be a thing of the past in #2014.

In December, the @twitter mob took down @JustineSacco – most say rightly – after her 'insensitive' tweet sparked an outrage.

A US-based communications executive, she tweeted: "Going to Africa. Hope I don't get AIDS. Just kidding. I'm white."

As she was in the air, her 'tasteless' comments were shared and reshared several thousand times over, with everyone asking #HasJustineLandedYet?

While I'm all for 'moral ranting' to any perceived insensitivity or bigotry, what would these 'virtuous hunters' have done if #JustinSacco was a 'black' woman?

@pjux wrote a very simulating piece for the @guardian on the subject. The simple point it, we still haven't grown enough to be able to comment outside the 'home turf'.

Had the women making these 'insensitive' remarks about AIDS and Africa had been from the same race, everything would have been much more nuanced - in fact maybe the entire tweet would simply have been ignored like hundreds or thousands others.